FTA peace bigger than both of us: PM

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Prime Minister John Howard yesterday talked up a settlement to the row over the free trade agreement with the United States.

Securing the FTA was more important than any political advantage he or Opposition Leader Mark Latham might gain from their argument over drug prices, Mr Howard said.

Both the Government and Labor want to do a deal and, barring some fresh derailment, this is expected early next week.

The Government believes it may be the one that in the end frames the amendment because it doubts Labor will produce something satisfactory.

"It would be a tragedy for this country if the free trade agreement was not passed into law. It is a once-in-a-generation opportunity," Mr Howard said.

Before flying to the South Pacific Forum in Samoa, Mr Howard said the Government would accept a Labor amendment "that is not damaging to the patent law of this country".

"The national interest requires of us both that we deliver this free trade agreement, and political advantage for either side, certainly in the short term, is quite secondary to the national interest," he said.

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Mr Latham said Labor would pursue amendments next week "to have... multimillion-dollar penalties in place, to ensure the big companies can't hold up the generic products coming onto the market. We've got to defend the interests of our consumers, and that's what we'll be fighting for in the Senate next week with our amendment," he said.

Labor is concerned that the free trade agreement could delay the arrival on the market of cheap generic drugs by giving big drug companies the opportunity to throw up bogus patents when their original patent is due to expire - a practice common in the US that is known as "evergreening".

Under the agreement, a generic drug-maker that plans to market a drug in breach of a patent it believes is bogus must notify the patent holder.

Mr Latham said this new notification system would give big drug companies a chance to mobilise their lawyers to head off any challenge to their patent.

"With the new notification system that's coming in, as the big companies get notice of potential competitors... the overseas experience tells us that they spew out dozens of patents to try and protect their commercial position."

Labor is working furiously on the amendment, which it says it will release early next week.

Trade Minister Mark Vaile said there had been "a major scare campaign".

"I know for sure and for certain we have secured the protection of the pharmaceutical benefits scheme," he said.